If you’ve read my other blog posts, you’ll remember that I suffered from horrible discharge that nothing seemed to get rid of. I tried antibiotics, natural inserts and most recently RepHresh Pro-B pills. RepHresh is a highly debated brand when it comes to their inserts and pills; you either hate it or your love it. I’ve read other reviews before buying my own little bottle of Pro-B pills and many people seemed to swear by it and sing its praises. That’s probably why I ended up buying it – I felt that after wasting so much money on feminine hygiene products I had nothing to lose at this point. While some reviews were rather skeptical, a lot of them were actually positive. Continue reading…

Let’s face it; there’s not anything much more embarrassing than going to the doctor because you’re itchy or you smell down there. I know too well the feeling of shame associated with the thought of discussing your hygiene with a stranger – especially if you’re like me and don’t have a regular OB or family doctor. Thankfully, the big manufacturers understand this as well and are now providing us women with products to help us demystify common symptoms. The Vagisil Screening Kit is supposed to do exactly just that; let you know if you have a yeast infection, bacterial vaginosis or any other kind of similar infection. Continue reading…

Lots has been going on in my life lately, and it’s interesting how I always seem to make some kind of vaginal health experiment out of the various situations life throws at me. My most recent situation is going through a divorce, so I guess I won’t be writing about having sex anytime soon. It does however give me a unique perspective on how not having sex affects the frequency of UTI and yeast flare ups. My husband and I have been separated for about a month as of today. Since the sex stopped, I’ve found that I can be much more lenient on my diet as far as carbs are concerned. I had pizza one day, and some cookies yesterday. I’ve also been having alcohol a few times a week. In the old days, these are things that would normally cause a UTI or yeast infection flare up when I was having sex a few times a week. I guess that’s one of the benefits of my situation.

Now I’m most certainly not suggesting anyone stop having sex, if you get it on a regular basis. By all means, please enjoy it. I am however suggesting that if the situation arises where you’re no longer having sex (such as myself), you may want to experiment with giving yourself a carby or sugary treat. (But as I always say, everyone is different.) I don’t think I’d ever go back to a high carb diet because I must admit I do have more energy when keeping my carbs and sugar low. In the mean time, I will allow myself a treat now and again.My vagina has felt very healthy. I’m still taking TheraCran, AZO Yeast, and Vitamin C. I’ve reduced my use of Rephresh to just the week after my period, since I’m trying to cut back on expenses lately. The once a month dose of Rephresh seems to be working out well for me, and oddly enough I’m not getting the clumps when I use it once a month. That really surprised me.

On another note, masturbating alone doesn’t seem to contribute to the frequency of flare ups either. Then again, I’m not using some giant dildo. For all of you ladies out there who are squeamish about the idea of masturbating, you’re totally missing out. There are so many benefits to it. I can’t think of a reason not to do it. Masturbating really helps you to learn about yourself. Anyway, with that said, if you are one of those who pleases yourself from time to time or even every day, the same hygiene rules apply as they do for regular sexual activity. Make sure you wash your hands before you start, and also wash any toys once finished. Provide propper lubrication. If you’re sensing some friction, grab some lube. When you’re done, pee, and rinse your vagina off with water. You may even want to drink a glass or two of water to help flush out any bacteria that may have made its way into your vagina. If you’re curious about the benefits of masturbation (other than the obvious), as well as techniques. You can check out a site I came across, Love Life Plus. Enjoy!

I know in the past few months I’ve fallen off the wagon a time or two. Since going off birth control, dealing with PMS cravings has been quite a challenge. I’ve managed to avoid the real sugar stuff, but I was not able to stay away from the artificial sweeteners. The carbsmart ice cream bars really saved me from going for the real thing. I’ve been doing a lot of cooking lately, which I find helps a great deal. For one, it’s quite relaxing and the act of cooking fresh delicious food steers my mind into a healthy direction. My favorite for this week are these super thick bone-in pork chops. I’m not the best cook, but these seem to come out tasty each time. I just put a little olive oil in a pan heated to medium and sprinkle a little of this stuff called Old World seasoning that I picked up at one of those shops filled with different types of seasonings. They take about 10 or 15 minutes to cook. I also made cooked carrots for the first time. I’ve been keeping my carbs low during the day, so I’ve been able to have some of the higher carb tasty veggies in the evening. I bought a bunch of carrots from the store that still have the leafy greens attached. I cut them up and put them in a pan with 4tbs of water and 2tbs of butter.

I’ve been off birth control for about two months now. I had been on some form of birth control for the past ten years–primarily the pill. I made the decision to go off birth control because I was really getting tired of all the side effects. I felt it was seriously affecting my sex drive and contributing to my vaginal dryness, plus the headaches. During the first month of going off birth control my sex drive increased like crazy. I was pretty much horny every waking moment. Of course this made my husband very happy. He wasn’t too keen on the idea of me going off the pill in the first place, but once he realized my sex drive was going through the roof he started to love the idea of no birth control pills. My vagina was much much wetter. I couldn’t believe the difference.

My first period came right on schedule. It was pretty normal compared to what I was used to while on the pill. It was a day or two shorter. My PMS cravings were worse, but I didn’t have super sore breasts like I did on the pill. After my period, my sex drive seemed to have tapered off some and I wasn’t quite as wet (still wetter than when I was on the pill). Since I stopped taking the pill, I also don’t have those horrible headaches I once had. This month’s period came on schedule, but was not a normal period. I still had strong PMS cravings. Once my period started, the first and second day were heavy. Then I was spotting for a day or two and then it disappeared. Once it disappeared, my sex drive seemed to perk up. We’ll see how this month goes. So far it looks like the pill was making me dryer as well as affecting my sex drive. I read that it can take up to a year for your periods to become normal. So far my experience hasn’t been bad. I’ve read horror stories of people going off the pill and having irregular periods or bleeding for long periods of time. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

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We're a group of women who have tried any number of remedies to bring our lady business back into good working order. Here on Downstairs Journey we share our stories with you in the hope that everyone can benefit from our experiences.